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Abstract: [BEETHOVEN] was busy writing his 9th Symphony and
didn't get to Diabelli's project for several years. Yet the
inconsequential theme must have intrigued him, for instead
of one variation, he wrote 33. The results are extraordinary
in the way they look back and forward in music history. Variation
20 shows a chromatic version of Palestrina; the fugues in
Nos. 24 and 32 reflect Bach's influence, while other variations
anticipate Schumann and even point forward to Debussy and
Bartok.
An amazing musical event occurred on Wednesday evening at
the Broward Main Library auditorium. Beethoven's Diabelli
Variations, the most difficult, esoteric and profound set
of variations ever written for the piano, was performed by
a near-genius, Piotr Anderszewski.
Anton Diabelli (1781-1854) was a minor composer and music
publisher. In 1819 he sent an insipid waltz (he thought it
was pretty good) to nearly every living composer he knew in
Austria, inviting each to write a single variation on his
tune, which Diabelli was convinced would sell like hotcakes.
More than 50 composers responded with a brief variation, most
of which were drivel, pretty figurative decorations of the
silly theme. Schubert's contribution was, unsurprisingly,
one of the better responses, and, in his first published composition,
the 8-year-old Franz Liszt joined in.
Beethoven was busy writing his 9th Symphony and didn't get
to Diabelli's project for several years. Yet the inconsequential
theme must have intrigued him, for instead of one variation,
he wrote 33. The results are extraordinary in the way they
look back and forward in music history. Variation 20 shows
a chromatic version of Palestrina; the fugues in Nos. 24 and
32 reflect Bach's influence, while other variations anticipate
Schumann and even point forward to Debussy and Bartok.
Anderszewski has recently released a recording of the Diabelli
Variations on the Virgin label. On Monday night, a film was
shown of the young Polish-Hungarian pianist playing the same
work, one of the odder offerings of this year's Beethoven
by the Beach festival.
Anderszewski's astounding performance Wednesday night presented
an hour of intense concentration that few modern pianists
could achieve. The counterpoint and imitations were always
crystal-clear, with phenomenal control. However, some of the
slow variations were too plodding, and thus one missed the
pianist's ability to make the music sing. (As intellectual
and radical as this music is, many markings of cantabile appear
in the score.)
Otherwise, this was in many ways a great performance. The
fact that a near-capacity audience rose to their feet to cheer
this difficult work was a tribute to Anderszewski's remarkable
rendition and prodigious talent.
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